http://img37.imageshack.us/img37/7038/d ... sassin.bmp - An assassin of the DB reimagined as an on-the-surface secular guild of illicit blades & business, generally hired by nibenese noble houses and unofficially sanctioned by the Empire to keep chaos out of the streets. Lorkhan worship going on in the upper ranks.

I had some reference stuff when I was making that, so it probably made sense to me back than. Couldn't really tell you why now, though. Maybe something about them being the literal right hand of the Divine Plan.

Personally, I'm not wild about them actually having a different skin tone (especially vivid yellow) for a couple reasons. First, half-breeds in TES are basically unheard of (see Notes on Racial Phylogeny)- there may be some traces of the father's race, but otherwise offspring nearly always take after their mother. Second, the Bretons spent countless generations interbreeding with Aldmer as well, to the extent that they're the closest people in TES to a true "half-elf" race, and even then, the only real change is in their aptitude for magic rather than physical traits.

I'm of the opinion that the Nibenese should still look like Imperials as far as skin tone and facial features go, and the distinction between them and the Colovians should come from their culture.

Eh, I model a bit. Morrowind is giving me a headache with all these separate body parts, though.

PGE1 makes it clear that some nibenese nobility are akaviri in appearance: "Akaviri surnames are rare and prized possessions among the Cyrodilic citizenry of today, and there are trace facial features of the Akaviri in many distinguished Cyrodilic families."

Anyway, will rough up some head models in a mo' to see what you think.

Tarius: I have now conquered the galaxy twice and am working on a third. Once thats out of me, I will be back to work.TDF: Which game is that(I assume its a game and not real life)The Khan: If it was real life, we would know about it. And I dont think he means this Galaxy.Tarius: Yes, I really lead a secret double life where I am a galactic overlord.

I'm kind of having a hard time figuring out what's going on with that guy on the right- could we get a close-up/alternate view of the helmet/mask? Right now it's giving me a weird "chicken embryo" vibe. Guy on the left looks great though, no complaints here (I'm assuming he's like a Nibenese warrior of some kind?)

As for the last image you posted- the mask on that palace guard is a little too Molag Bal for my tastes (compare it to TR's Mask of Humiliation), but the sleeve is really cool.

aye, it was intended as a daedric helmet jiub. I like the aesthetic of morrowind npcs where the higher-ups have all these weird helmets with tusks and floating horns. and the pge lists the princes as the 16 'acceptable' blasphemes, so I figure the palace guard would have shit like that. I did sketch this too, thought it looked too much like a saiyan tho lmao

on the chicken embryo guy, I wasn't using a reference when I drew it. just wanted to get a feel for a cult of animal worshippers left over from alessian rule. I think I was going for some kind of bird of prey type deal, but the embryo idea is wacky enough id personally go for that tbh

I actually like the Sayan hair, it resembles the tall/spiky elven hairstyles from the recent games.

I like MW's art style too, but my concern is that I don't want Cyrodiil to feel like MW 2.0 and rehash the same elements/artwork (especially since P:C is designed to be playable alongside TR, who will also be using those same elements). We can still integrate horns and tusks and weirdness, but it's important to do so in a way that fits with the background and culture of the Imperials.

With the Molag Bal helmet especially, I'm having trouble finding the concept art with MK's annotations, but at least in lore, the Daedric helmets in MW have a lot of cultural significance to the Temple, representing the House of Troubles (or at least Molag Bal, Dagon, and Sheogorath), Vivec, and Nerevar- with specific rules about which ones can be worn by whom and what each symbolizes. In comparison, the thing about the 16 acceptable blasphemies is a cool start, but needs fleshing out. For instance, why, of the 16 Princes of varying sympathy to mortal interests, would the Palace Guard choose to associate themselves with one of the worst?

An interesting alternative, maybe, could be to go with something inspired by Sanguine, like maybe as a relic of the Reman dynasty? Take a look at this passage from the Imperial Census of Daedra Lords:

Sanguine, Prince of Hedonism, lords over no less than ten times ten thousand pleasure pockets of the Void. As revelry and drunken stupor fall under this Prince’s influence, he has been a favorite of many Emperors since the first foundation. Records even indicate that he resided in White-Gold Tower during the reign of Reman Cyrodiil and helped in the somewhat dubious draftsmanship of the Crendali Festivals, whose vulgarities did little to help Imperial expansion into Alinor and the other Summersets.

Something like that would fit with the concept you already had in mind, while being more grounded in Imperial history and culture (and allow us to integrate a neat detail from the obscure lore). Not to mention it would be fitting with the Guide to the Imperial City from OB:

The Elder Council Chamber here cannot be entered, and though you may marvel at their curious ancient armors, you will soon want be away from the rude and discourteous Imperial Guards.

Since in-game, that line makes no sense due to the palace guards wearing recolored Legion Plate.

yeah ive seen the mk picture. shame those restrictions didnt make it into the game, though its kinda hard to judge insanity i guess. but cultural ties to certain items in cyrodiil might be a cool idea for the folk in charge of gameplay shit to think about

as for molag, "Now get up and fight, dummy, we’re all counting on you. Thank you, Bal, I won’t forget this." - Tiber's Sword-Meeting with Cyrus

and i guess it depends on how you view the empire. oblivion especially, but also morrowind has shown them in a pretty heroic light. skyrim shows a darker side. domination seems like a pretty big part of red conquest; i imagine its bal worship whether you want it to be or not. maybe the rape tongue aspect is a bit off though the dunmer might disagree ya know

not sure sanguine is a much safer option if the shonni etta is anything to go by lmao. you should ask mk if that can go in btw

I can't speak for anyone else, but I'm planning for a lot of the obscure lore to be added as books (with MK/Lady N's blessing of course). My intent isn't to portray the Empire as do no wrong, white knight goody-goodies- as I said, my chief concern here is simply making Cyrodiil feel unique from Morrowind.

I'm still reluctant to have open Molag Bal worship by the palace staff, considering the events of ESO (the specific elements of its lore are mostly mediocre, but we can't really ignore the big picture). I agree with what you're saying about the Empire and domination, but there's a difference between acting within a Prince's sphere and prancing around wearing His face, especially when there are probably still some denizens of the Empire old enough to remember the Planemeld firsthand.

Personally, I think Sanguine opens some interesting doors visually- you could tie in masquerade masks, Eyes Wide Shut style, subtle erotic imagery in the armor (you couldn't go wrong with some HR Giger influence), etc. The dude's the Prince of sex, drugs and rock 'n roll, that's gotta be more fun than just a bunch of rape imagery.

Saint_Jiub wrote:I can't speak for anyone else, but I'm planning for a lot of the obscure lore to be added as books (with MK/Lady N's blessing of course). My intent isn't to portray the Empire as do no wrong, white knight goody-goodies- as I said, my chief concern here is simply making Cyrodiil feel unique from Morrowind.

I'm still reluctant to have open Molag Bal worship by the palace staff, considering the events of ESO (the specific elements of its lore are mostly mediocre, but we can't really ignore the big picture). I agree with what you're saying about the Empire and domination, but there's a difference between acting within a Prince's sphere and prancing around wearing His face, especially when there are probably still some denizens of the Empire old enough to remember the Planemeld firsthand.

Personally, I think Sanguine opens some interesting doors visually- you could tie in masquerade masks, Eyes Wide Shut style, subtle erotic imagery in the armor (you couldn't go wrong with some HR Giger influence), etc. The dude's the Prince of sex, drugs and rock 'n roll, that's gotta be more fun than just a bunch of rape imagery.

The easy way to do this is to simply have it as a badly kept secret. They mostly keep it hushed, but everyone knows they are doing it and they dont bother them because they arnt causing any problems.

Tarius: I have now conquered the galaxy twice and am working on a third. Once thats out of me, I will be back to work.TDF: Which game is that(I assume its a game and not real life)The Khan: If it was real life, we would know about it. And I dont think he means this Galaxy.Tarius: Yes, I really lead a secret double life where I am a galactic overlord.

Now those, I really like. I imagine the Red Conquest mask wrought in bronze with embedded rubies (simulating blood splatter), the Face-Tusked mask as gold or even adamantium, and the Shaven Fruit enameled a deep cherry red like Sanguine himself (and my vote is that this would be the one worn by the palace guards). I like the version of Face-Tusk in the middle image better, with the high forehead and red diamond. Some other possibilities:

Face of the Sacred Bull: Worn by male priests of KynarethFace of Boundless Wisdom: Worn by admirers of MarukhFace of the Absent Father: Mask depicting King Hrol, worn by the staff at Sancre Tor

Names kind of suck but you get the idea.

Tarius wrote:The easy way to do this is to simply have it as a badly kept secret. They mostly keep it hushed, but everyone knows they are doing it and they dont bother them because they arnt causing any problems.

I still think it's a can of worms that we don't need to open. After the Tharns nearly handed Nirn to Molag Bal on a silver platter, I don't think any Bal worship, even a badly kept secret, would be looked upon kindly.